Translator: AnubisTL
A series of "Excellent" and "Superior" results erupted like machine-gun fire, nearly causing the old wizard's jaw to drop onto the table.
His previously disdainful smile froze completely, replaced by a look of utter shock and uncontrollable trembling.
Mental Intrusion Resistance and Mind Control Resistance at the fourth-circle level?!
This approached the core resistances of some high-tier protective constructs!
And the final two categories—Corrosion Resistance and Curse Resistance—simply displayed "Evaluation Exceeds Current Instrument Range" with a prompt: "Recommend upgrading detection equipment."
This instrument was the standard device for assessing material resistances below the fifth-circle wizard level!
H-h-how is this possible?!
The old wizard's commotion drew the attention of other testing wizards nearby.
They crowded around to look, and when they saw the two glaring "Inferior" results at the top of the list, followed by a dizzying string of "Excellent," "Superior," and even "Evaluation Exceeds Range," the entire testing center erupted into chaos!
"What the hell is this material?!"
"How can the physical and energy resistances be so poor, yet the corrosion resistance is so high? It makes no sense!"
"Beyond the instrument's range?! This material must have been developed by at least a fifth-circle wizard! Who submitted it?!"
"What's the submitter's name?! Is it a high-ranking wizard? Why didn't they use the special channel?"
They all turned to the crude label on the material sample bottle, which read simply: "White Iron-Based Isolation Material" and an apprentice's identification number!
"An apprentice?!" Everyone froze in disbelief.
A wizard apprentice?! What kind of joke was this?!
A testing wizard, barely a first-circle wizard himself, picked up the recording tablet with trembling hands, his voice cracking: "Quick! Go get the supervisor!!!"
Chaos erupted in the testing center as all the wizards swarmed around the unremarkable white iron blocks, their eyes wide with shock, confusion, and disbelief.
One quick-thinking wizard, seeing the test results, had already begun secretly contacting his colleagues, urging them to prepare to purchase the isolation material associated with that identification number on the magic network.
Curse and corrosion resistance exceeding fifth-circle levels—materials of this caliber were strictly controlled resources even within the Noren Workshop.
Isolation material?
What a waste of such a precious resource!
Wouldn't it be better to use this material to create protective wizard artifacts?!
As for its weak physical and energy resistance... that was never a problem!
After all, wizards excelled at both physical and energy defenses, possessing a wide array of protective methods.
Throughout their endless planar wars, the greatest challenge wizards faced was the corrosive and damaging effects of incomprehensible, unknown forces.
The reason logistics wizards accompanied frontline troops was to constantly analyze the unique energies and materials within each plane and swiftly develop countermeasures.
Conversely, the greatest losses among logistics wizards stemmed from the injuries sustained while studying these phenomena.
But with this artifact, unless one was extraordinarily unlucky, it was essentially an extra life!
As more wizards realized this, covert communications outside the academy grew increasingly frequent.
Thus, when the supervisor arrived, nearly every formal wizard in the academy was buzzing with excitement.
That night, an anonymous apprentice and an unassuming material had dropped a silent bombshell deep within the alchemy workshop of Noren Academy.
Meanwhile, at the center of all the commotion, Jieming was still toiling away in a corner of the warehouse, sweating profusely as he "moved bricks," desperately earning those life-saving merit points.
He remained completely oblivious to the seismic impact his unintentional actions had already unleashed within the academy.
Warehouse No. 5 was filled with a thick haze of dust and the mixed scent of various minerals.
The warehouse resembled a massive cavern, piled high with raw materials.
Mineral dust and the dry, earthy aroma of plants permeated the air. Sunlight streamed through several rune-etched glass apertures in the ceiling, forming radiant pillars of light in which countless fine particles danced.
Jieming, clad in a protective suit, was assigned to this warehouse along with several other apprentices. Before them loomed small mountains of minerals and plants.
Their task was to identify each material using the Basic Materials Handbook, sort them into separate crates, weigh them, and label them accordingly.
"Ugh, another manual labor job," one apprentice sighed, bending down to start moving minerals.
"If it were just manual labor, that would be fine. But why do we have to identify these minerals? They all look exactly the same!" another apprentice groaned.
Jieming remained silent, pulling on his protective suit before joining the others.
As he meticulously examined the ore in his hands with his mental power, Jieming mechanically repeated the sorting and weighing motions.
Suddenly, his movements froze. Victor had entered the warehouse through the main entrance, accompanied by his mission partner.
They seemed to have just completed a mission and were here to find their next assignment.
Victor immediately noticed Jieming and his group working on the "sorting" task, but instead of approaching them, he led his partner toward the mission board's terminal within the warehouse.
A few moments later, Jieming overheard Victor's voice from nearby.
He seemed to have found another promising mission and was trying to persuade his partner.
"Look, this 'Test Energy Conductivity' mission requires us to go to energy chamber 3... It's a bit out of the way, but the task itself is simple—just operating a few instruments. And the merit points are double what we'd get for sorting!" Victor's tone was persuasive. "Stop doing manual labor all the time! We need to use our brains!"
His mission partner seemed hesitant. "The energy chamber... I've heard the energy fluctuations there can be unstable sometimes..."
"Don't worry! There are protective measures in place!" Victor dismissed his concerns with a casual wave. "Besides, the instability is perfect for gathering more data. We could even write a report for our mentor and make a good impression!" His tone radiated unwavering confidence, as if saying, "Just follow me, and everything will be fine."
Hearing this, Jieming, standing nearby, curled his lip in disdain.
He was certain Victor had taken bribes from someone in the energy chamber, purely to scam this poor sap.
Of course, "scam" might be too strong a word, since what Victor said wasn't entirely false.
But Victor had conveniently omitted the fact that most energy fluctuations tested in the chamber were far from harmonious. While not directly harmful, the tests invariably left subjects dizzy, nauseous, and vomiting for two or three days afterward.
Still, Jieming had no intention of exposing Victor's scheme. After all, they weren't enemies.
(End of the Chapter)
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